Saitek Combat Rudders Discontinued?

[neoshi]

After sending back my combat rudders to Saitek/Mad Catz for repair back in January, they informed today that the combat rudders have been officially discontinued and that i would receive the cheaper pro flight pedals to replace them. Obviously, I'm pretty pissed about this and told them i won't accept this switch, but i think my options are limited. They are not even offering to make up for the$100 difference between the combat and regular pedals.

 

Anyone else face this same issue?

 

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[speedbirdcathay250]

Hey neoshi,

 

Damn! That's a kick in the teeth and stomach and the crown jewels all in one swipe. How long did you have yours for?

I still have my Saitek rudder pedals, but its the Cessna's, pretty much the same as the Combat pedals. Did they say why they couldn't compensate you for the difference?

 

As for a replacement, as your were offered the Saitek pro flight pedals, don't think there are anymore other better replacements apart from maybe the newer Thrustmaster pedals which were recently released, or if you have £$ saved up seems like the crosswinds are the way to go. Although they take some months to get through as they are hand made.

CH pedals are another great alternative as the quality will serve you for the years to come.

 

Hope you do get something sorted. I've a mate who's got the combat pedals as well, but they are working ok for him; so far.

[agentdarnell]

I have a pair that need to go back. One toe brake quit working. Maybe i wont send them back. Maybe i can find someone to repair them.

[cichlidfan]

I have a pair that need to go back. One toe brake quit working. Maybe i wont send them back. Maybe i can find someone to repair them.

 

Worst case, replace the electronics with a Leo Bodnar board, though I am not sure if you would need new sensors or not. Either way, sending them back now is almost a losing proposition.

[Kornskydiver]

I would just give up on saitek bud. VKB t-rudder pedals ($250) and are a great option and are just as precise as mfg rudder pedals. Only downfall to the t-rudders are the lack of toe-brakes but the precision and smoothness are phenomenal

[neoshi]

Hey guys, to answer your questions:

 

They still haven't provided ample accommodation for the situation. US consumer protection laws require them to either repair, refund, or replace the product, of which they say they cannot repair units now, they discontinued the product, and they will not pay out anything in cash so no refund. Of course, i could choose to pursue this in small claims court, citing their inability to fulfil the warranty as part of the sales agreement (breach of contract). I've put them on blast on twitter and Reddit as well.

 

If you do have problems with your unit, do NOT send it back. But you could reasonably try to claim lack of warranty as well.

 

Vkbs are indeed my planned replacement. I considered the CH and the new TM ones, but the vkb's up/down motion is actually something i prefer.

 

Anyhow, i hope to get more info soon. I have actually asked them to send me my pedals back including shipping costs I've incurred to send them, but they claim they cannot find my pedals because there is nothing to identify the unit. I told them to look underneath for the serial number... Lol. If they cannot provide that, then i may entertain the regular pro flights but would like to receive the difference in cash. They have only offered in products, which i have rejected because most of mad catz gear is absolute crap now. Then lastly, if these are not possible, then i may pursue small claims court for a full refund due to breach of contract (i would not have bought these pedals if they did not come with a 2 or more year warranty because of my prior experience with their x65f.

 

The unit exhibited toe brake issues out of the box but they were not a problem until about 6 months in, when i had to increase the dead zone substantially to avoid the false registers. I think it is time that the saitek brand leaves the flight arena, but i know there are few low budget alternatives.

 

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[speedbirdcathay250]

Cheers for your reply Neoshi. A harsh lesson for all of us who own Saitek products. The only way for Saitek to depart the Flight simming arena is for us (the consumers) to say a big NO NO NO to their products.

In the mean time it would be interesting to hear what your alternatives are for your pedals, as who knows down the line somebody else with similar issues to your might encounter.

For mines, I think my Saitek pedals are on a timer as well :/

[dburne]

That is too bad they discontinued the Combats, I thought for Saitek they were a pretty good offering. Mine served me well for the time I had them.

 

I upgraded mine to the MFG Crosswinds last Dec, best thing I have ever done in regards to pedals. I could not be happier, these things are so smooth and have really helped my KA-50 flying.

[Deezle]

Discontinuing them was a great thing for me. Sold them for more than I paid and putting that money towards a set of MFGs I ordered :thumbup:

 

 

Fixing a bad pot yourself shouldn't be too difficult.

[Sokol1_br]

Originally Posted by agentdarnell View Post

I have a pair that need to go back. One toe brake quit working. Maybe i wont send them back. Maybe i can find someone to repair them.

 

Worst case, replace the electronics with a Leo Bodnar board, though I am not sure if you would need new sensors or not. Either way, sending them back now is almost a losing proposition.

Probable don't need replace the USB controller - or pedal stop work at all - but a outworn potentiometer or some broken wire.

 

If the issue is the pot', forget, will no find then for buy...

Edited July 26, 2016 by Sokol1_br

[neoshi]

Update: i guess using Twitter helped as one of their support leads called me to resolve the situation. All is good now, though i no longer have pedals (for now!).

 

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[BlitzPuppet]

Saitek has always offered subpar hardware at cheap prices. Every single piece of equipment I have used that is their brand ends up with an issue.

 

Their customer support and warranty are laughable at best. I swore them off after an issue with my keyboard and got rid of all their plastic junk.

 

Issues I've had:

 

Saitek Cyborg Evo Joysick (2 of them): left thumb button broke, got replacement button from them only to have it happen again/not even click. Bought whole new joystick and the same thing happened.

Saitek X52: First the joystick started dying and not calibrating, then the throttle started to give out and had all the buttons fail.

Cyborg Keyboard: First one died, can't remember why.

Cybord Keyboard v7: Found out it had terrible ghosting issues...press more than two buttons at once and none of the keys would register. Found this out while doing a burnout in GTA V and trying to turn. They refused to fix it after taking a MONTH of back and forth with their warranty department.

 

The only thing I didn't have issues with were the rudders. Sold those to a friend when I got my Slaw 109 pedals.

[neoshi]

Yeah but their price point is a necessary life force for our genre. It's hard to attract more attention to sims, let alone the hardware associated when the best stuff resides around$400+. It's a learning process though for sure. As you get more experience, you learn that saitek products are no longer fit for the purpose and then you make the decision to stay in and pay more, stay put and deal with the issue, or quit. I've had an X45, 2x X52s, 2x X65Fs, and the combat pedals. All had catastrophic issues that required RMA. I've learned now. My wife cringed though when she heard the price for the VKBs and how they are the cheaper of the robust products.

 

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[Nigel Hanchard]

I had had really bad experiences with Saitek customer support (i.e. The complete lack of it) in the past, and reluctantly bought their combat pedals because there didn't seem to be much alternative. They failed in the same way after just 6 months - one of the toe brakes stopped working. I got exactly the same story. They would have replaced them but they're discontinued and there are none in stock so I can have the basic, cheaper model instead or wait an indeterminate amount of time for Cessna pedals to come back in stock. I don't know how they get away with it. They claimed a 2-year guarantee on these things without any intention of backing it up, which is fraudulent as far as I'm concerned. Reputable companies, like Specialized, the cycle manufacturer, who guarantee their bike frames for life, keep a ring-fenced stock of replacements just so they can back their guarantee up. I bought my combat pedals from Box.com as opposed to Saitek directly, so I'm trying to get a refund from them. I'll post again to say how I get on. One thing's for sure: I will never have anything to do with Saitek products again.

 

 

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[Goldsmack]

Wow this is another strike against MadCatz/Saitek and now a days I pretty much hear bad things about them. I have the same issue with quality, there just badly put together and poorly designed, the only thing keeping them afloat is the cost. The X55 I have is not the worst I'v ever seen but I have had to re solder a few wires and re grease/graphite everything and theirs this sloppy loose dead zone issue I have that's related to build quality that annoys me to no end when your trying to fly level.

Edited July 30, 2016 by Goldsmack

[speedbirdcathay250]

Update: i guess using Twitter helped as one of their support leads called me to resolve the situation. All is good now, though i no longer have pedals (for now!).

 

:smilewink: I guess sometimes Twitter has it's benefits. Hope they get one sent to you the sooner the better. But again since you brought this topic to light, once you receive and start using your newer Saitek pedals the clock starts ticking again until they go poof :(

 

Again I can only say I've also had bad experiences with Saitek sticks. In the past I went through TWO Evo Wireless Pro sticks, then again went through 2 Fly 5's. Since the realities of life and everyday living hasn't let me save up as much as I would like to purchase a Thrustmaster Warthog, so ended up settling for their Hotas X, and that's been serving me for the past year (16 months to be exact). Since I live in the U.K the cheapest TM Warthog I have come across was around £250-60 on Amazon ($330-350 ish) not including postage. So maybe I might end up getting one by the end of the year :)

 

I am sure you all remember the days when Microsoft made their Force Feedback Sidewinder flight sticks? I still have that in full working condition. Purchased that way back in 1997. Shame hardly any of the recent flight sims support it anymore.